Siberia's Megaslump Unveils Ancient Secrets from Permafrost.
Originally Published 2 years ago — by Yahoo Life
Scientists have discovered the second-oldest permafrost on Earth in Siberia's Batagay megaslump, which has been frozen for 650,000 years. The slump is the largest megaslump on Earth, covering 0.3 square miles, and is known as the "gateway to the underworld." The permafrost in this region is 80% ice, and increased seasonal melting caused the sediment in the hillside to collapse. Studying the permafrost provides a window into the past and the future by showing how it responded to previous climate change events. The researchers used three dating methods to reveal the age of the permafrost layers, which can provide dates on materials going back 500,000 to 1 million years.
